Happy Fanatics Fest weekend! If you’re unfamiliar with Fanatics Fest, it’s basically a massive multi-day sports event based here in NYC. Think of it like an anime lover’s Comic-Con, just an active weekend of sports activations, panels, athlete meet and greets, games, and anything else you can think of.

We went on opening day to get a first look, and the scale of it was massive. Food trucks were parked everywhere, the lines were long, but the energy kept things moving. We really wanted to catch the Knicks and Aaron Judge podcast crossover, but the crowd was so big we couldn’t get anywhere near the stage.

Still, there were some genuine hidden gems in the chaos. We waited over an hour just to play the new Call of Duty, and somehow it still felt worth it. We also played mini-games at the AMEX Sports House, which was branded so well across their F1, NFL, and NBA partnerships that it barely felt like an ad. It just felt like part of the culture. Powerade was also handing out samples in a further, low-key corner of the event which ended up being the perfect little oasis.

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Basically here’s what I took away from it, and to be completely honest, this review is on the shorter side because most of my actual time was spent waiting in those lines. Fanatics Fest is one of those experiences that’s worth doing once just to witness the sheer scale. But you have to go in with a game plan, brace yourself for a sea of people, and stay flexible when the thing you wanted to do the most isn’t the thing you end up doing.

There is absolutely no way you can experience all of this in one day, which is probably why it is a multiple-day event. You really need that extra time just to pace yourself.

It really reminded me that sports fandom isn’t one size fits all.

Some fans genuinely thrive in the loud, chaotic energy of a massive convention floor. Others, including me, will always prefer a more curated, intentional experience. Because of the scale of an event like this, everyone’s Fanatics Fest experience is going to look and feel completely different. And that is okay too. Neither reaction is wrong.

It’s easy to assume that the more you pay for an experience, the more value you should get out of it. But to be fair, nothing can beat spending $25 for a Barnes & Nobles book signing event to meet Jalen Hurts, or the $50 I spent to see the Yankees break a few home run records at Yankee Stadium. Both were completely different levels of experience compared to the $70 I spent here.

It’s just a perfect reminder that great experiences aren’t just about the price tag, they are about the actual quality of the connection.

I mean, someone mentioned that the entire Fanatics floor layout basically looked like a sports-themed IKEA (not my words, but the words of another fan who was in line with me). And honestly, looking back at the crowd navigation, they weren’t entirely wrong.

I definitely think I’ve officially checked this massive event off my list, but it left me thinking about how many different ways there are for sports and brands to actually meet fans where they are.

On the bright side, other than the couple of activations I enjoyed, just having that laugh about the IKEA comparison made the entire trip better.

out my cart

• “Women Know Ball” Dad Hat - one of the most accurate statements to put on a hat and so cute!!!

• Loonen Water - i’ve seen this brand online everywhere and decided to try it. Loonen’s water is spring-sourced, certified free of microplastics, and bottled completely in glass.

Today’s letter is about a very special and smart partnership between the clean beauty brand, Saie and the New York Knicks.

To understand why this works, you have to look at the heart of Saie. Laney Crowell built this brand on the beautiful mission of feeling good and doing good. It is a company that truly listens, living by the philosophy that their community is their co-creator. Whether they are excluding thousands of ingredients to prioritize safety, or using their platform to champion reproductive justice, Saie doesn’t just make makeup. They focus on safe skincare as the foundation of beauty, designed for everyone, from the teenager dealing with a breakout to her wise, glowing grandmother who models for their campaigns.

The spark for this partnership was purely organic. It traces back to two years ago, when Laney was at a game at Madison Square Garden. Her team was deep in development for their new setting spray, and as she watched the Knicks City Dancers take center court, the name CitySet finally clicked. It’s such a beautiful reminder that inspiration is truly everywhere.

But during that same game, Laney had a second moment of clarity. She looked around the arena and noticed that while thousands of women were deeply invested in the game, moms, friends, and fans on dates, the brands appearing on the jumbotron were largely ignoring them. It was a white space hiding in plain sight. She realized that while these women were completely locked in and lit up by the atmosphere of the Garden, not a single brand was speaking to them directly.

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From the Saie Office

The Story Behind Our Knicks Partnership

We have big plans for tonight: Cheering on the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals—and we could not be more excited…

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a month ago · 47 likes · 6 comments · From the Saie Office

That observation turned into the first official beauty partnership in the franchise’s history. It is a powerful reminder that just because something has not been done before, it does not mean it is a bad idea. Often, the most successful moves are simply markets waiting to be explored by someone with the courage to look. As Laney put it, this ended up becoming one of their best partnerships, even though it felt like one of their riskiest bets going in.

It’s a masterclass in community architecture and being empathetic enough to be the brand who wants to not only make women feel beautiful, but also to feel seen in places they might not naturally expect. It’s proof that small details aren’t so small after all and the ripples of courage create tidal waves of impact in a market that is overlooked.

I was so excited when I saw this partnership. Watching sports is such a regular, ingrained part of my life, just like my makeup routine. As someone who deeply values wellness and clean beauty, seeing these two worlds finally exist alongside each other feels incredibly special.

This is the new reality of brand strategy. As more brands realize that sports live at the intersection of so many industries, like tech, fashion, wellness, and beauty, we are entering a new era of cross-collaboration. When you stop viewing your brand as a product and start viewing it as a cultural participant, you don’t just reach an audience. You become part of their identity.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be buying pretty much all of the Saie products when the regular season is back.

Thanks for reading!

Inside the world of Saie

Lately, my feed has been filled with those stunning Chase Sapphire private dinners hosted directly on the court at NBA arenas. And it’s not just basketball either, I just saw them also pulling off a similar curated experience with FIFA. This tells me that small-scale moments are expanding across a lot of different sports experiences. They are beautifully curated and offer a level of intimacy that traditional luxury suites just can’t touch. But it got me wondering: why haven’t NFL clubs recreated this exact same experience?

When you look at how the NFL handles premium access right now, it is almost entirely built around volume or lounge access. It is loud and active, but can completely miss the mark on true intimacy and memorable experiences depending on the audience.

Bringing a curated, small-scale dining experience into the picture opens up a massive psychological shift in fan loyalty.

Here are the pros of why the NFL should also execute this (in their own way).

1. The Psychology of Shared Spaces

Sports remain one of the absolute last places where complete strangers will high-five and instantly bond over wins. It’s a rare cultural anomaly. But lately, sports marketing has become so hyper-focused on massive, high-volume stadium events which is fun in it’s own way. I believe another way to target both loyal casual fans can be on a smaller scale.

By intentionally scaling the volume down to intimate dining tables right on the field, a franchise strips away that noise momentarily. Imagine a beautifully lit, minimalist table sitting on the crisp grass of an empty 80,000-seat stadium. More importantly, it curates an experience for a completely different type of fan. While the die-hard fan loves the energy of a packed stadium, the casual fan might prefer intimacy, aesthetics, and close-up access.

This dinner format also encourages people to look at each other, share a meal, take pics and build a genuine personal connection, inviting a whole new audience into football culture outside of just game days and in a way that feels deeply personal instead of overwhelming.

2. Deepening the Value of Season Ticket Membership

Legacy sports franchises are constantly trying to figure out how to reward their highest-tier season ticket holders without just handing them standard merchandise or generic pre-game field passes. A curated “Dinner on the Fifty Yard Line” dining experience turns a standard transactional membership into a real community. It beautifully shifts the relationship from “I buy tickets from this team” to “I’m a part of the club.”

3. Maximizing the Official Payment Partner: AMEX

With American Express stepping in as the Official Payments Partner of the NFL, a high-level experiential concept like this is the ultimate strategic move. Currently, their presence leans toward lounges and stadium suites, which is amazing. But to truly maximize this partnership, AMEX can also create high-impact, socially shareable experiences on a much smaller scale.

The goal isn’t to copy Chase’s exact NBA format, but to bring that same blueprint of proximity to football in their own way. By hosting these quiet, intimate dining experiences right on the turf, Amex can offer their cardmembers a level of access that money simply cannot buy. It completely shifts their sponsorship to an unforgettable experience.

And honestly, since Amex already has a major partnership with Chef Kwame Onwuachi (my personal favorite chef) for their Centurion lounges, this is an absolute no-brainer. Having his bold flavors served right on the yard lines would completely redefine what premium stadium dining looks like. It brings actual culture and storytelling into a space that already has stories of its own.

After all, sports are deeply fueled by narrative. Every yard line has a history of legendary comebacks, intense rivalries, and unforgettable plays. Pairing the rich, historical weight of a stadium with Chef Kwame’s own form of culinary storytelling creates a beautiful synergy. It takes stadium dining from a passive transaction and turns it into a multi-sensory continuation of the game itself. This is the exact shift the industry needs.

At the end of the day, sports marketing is evolving past the traditional stadium suite. The future also belongs to small-scale, high-intimacy moments.

Thanks for reading, and @NFL, if you make this happen, please invite me.

As always, Go Birds!

There are opportunities that come to you, there are opportunities you find, but the best opportunities are the ones you have to dive for.

As much as we talk about the NFL and NBA here, I wanted to share a moment in tennis that really stood out to me lately from a 21 year old athlete, Alexandra Eala who just played at Wimbledon, the biggest tournament in tennis. She went into her match as a massive underdog against Iga Swiatek, a 2025 Wimbledon champion.

In case you don’t know Alex, she actually grew up in a basketball-dominant country, practicing after school on public courts in the Philippines with her grandpa. More basketballs bounce on neighborhood courts there in a day than tennis balls do in a month. She recently talked about how she used to show up to those practices as a little kid with chubby cheeks, ruffled socks, and light-up sneakers. There were no true grass courts to practice on back then. Instead, she spent her childhood playing on hard pavement that was built for basketball, adjusting her game around hoops hanging over her head.

On paper, a kid from a country without a major tennis history is not supposed to beat the best player in the world on Centre Court. But paper does not account for how bad someone wants it.

She didn’t just compete. She played with total, raw hunger, using her entire body in every sprint and sliding across the grass to stay in the game. She ended up pulling off a massive victory, becoming the first player from her country to ever make it this far in the tournament.

@wimbledon

It was a powerful reminder that sometimes you are not just doing it for yourself. When you step out there, you are representing an entire country of possibility. You’re paving a path for the young girls who will come after you, showing them what is possible all because you had the courage to try.

Watching her out there reminded me that sometimes we get so comfortable calculating our chances and waiting for perfectly safe conditions before we make a move.

Alex didn’t wait for a guaranteed victory. She made a difference because she was willing to dive for the ball, risk looking messy, and leave absolutely everything on the court.

The scrappiest wins are often the games people leave a bookmark on when referencing important, historic moments in your career.

It made me think about why I show up to [solidcore] every week. If you’ve ever taken a class, you know how brutal low-impact, high-intensity workouts can be. Except in that studio, the competition isn’t out on a field. It is entirely in your own mind, playing out against yourself.

Your muscles literally shake and those small movements become ways to get stronger. But I keep going back because it challenges my mind just as much as my body. In that studio, hitting muscle failure is not a sign of weakness, it is the mechanism required for growth. You have to break the muscle down to build it back stronger.

It’s a weekly practice in being scrappy and just showing up when things feel hard, because the win is in the quiet work as much as it is out on the field.

Regardless of what happens at the end of Wimbledon, you don’t need to win the final round to leave a permanent mark.

I hope this is a reminder that the magic is not just about holding a trophy at the end of the line. The magic is in being the type of person who refuses to leave the court with any regret whether you win or lose.

So as we head into this week, look at the things you’re building and don’t just wait for the easy path to open up.

Sometimes you have to play scrappy, put on your ruffled socks, lace up your light-up sneakers, and just dive it.

I’m writing this during the midst of a massive heat wave in New York. If you’re here too, hope you’re staying safe and hydrated while we wait for this to pass.

But speaking of heat, Boston literally just set the sports world on fire. Out of absolutely nowhere, they traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and a couple of draft picks.

Honestly, when I saw this news come in I actually thought it was a prank. Why would anyone trade a five-time All-Star and the reigning NBA Finals MVP who just had the absolute best statistical season of his career? The media and fans are calling it one of the worst and most confusing trades in Boston sports history. So I guess I wasn’t completely alone in questioning it.

On a live stream after the news broke, Jaylen openly talked about the total lack of respect he felt from the organization that packed him up. It definitely feels like a bittersweet, shocking ending.

But what I love about Jaylen, and what really gets me beyond the game, is just how incredibly intelligent he is. He is one of those athletes where the second he sits down at a microphone or on a livestream, you stop what you’re doing because you just want to hear what he has to say. We are talking about a guy who literally turned down a NASA internship, lectured at Harvard at a very young age, and spends his summers teaching youth robotics classes. He is an absolute powerhouse of a human mind.

Even after getting packed up by management, Jaylen made it clear that his heart and his community roots, like his 7uice Foundation and all his work with local schools, stay with the people of Boston.

At the end of the day, a lot of us know exactly what it feels like to give your absolute everything to a job, a place, or a relationship, only to watch them let you go anyway. It stings, and it rarely makes sense in the moment.

But one thing I’ve learned is that being let go from a space that no longer values your worth is never the ending it feels like. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and Philadelphia is getting a hardworking, brilliant player who belongs in a city that embraces an authentic, unpolished hustle over a perfect storyline.

Plus, between Jaylen Brown and Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia officially may have a monopoly on the most profound quotes in sports history.

Welcome to Philly, JB.

Play the song?

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wellness tip

• Jaylen’s approach to change gives us a real-world wellness tip: lean into the discomfort.

  • When everything around you changes, the instinct is to run away from the awkward feelings or mask them with fake positivity. But the best thing you can do to adjust to change is to just sit with the friction.

memory bank

out my cart

• Sensori (Blood Orange Habanero)- so excited for this to get here. it is an alcohol-free sparkling drink that has functional ingredients like kanna which uplifts mood and lion’s mane which promotes clarity to give you a natural social buzz.

  • also love that it’s a black-owned business, so you know i will support always.

    :)

I recently shared a whimsy New York guide filled with all the things I love right now. That one was 100% curated for who we are today, which is cool! But it got me thinking. I want to build a guide specifically for our inner child.

There is no right or wrong way to explore, we’re in NYC after all, but lately I’ve wanted to make exploring the city feel like childlike fun again.

That’s what led me to Barcade recently, which is exactly what it sounds like: part arcade, part bar. It was so much fun, and it got me thinking about how arcades were the original “third space” before that was even a phrase. In the ’90s, they were the ultimate social hub because arcade machines had better graphics than anything you could get at home.

Sometimes, I think it’s worth slowing down and centering ourselves around the things that remind us of who we were before the algorithms, the notifications and the endless scrolling.

Not to live in the past, just to remember it, and maybe borrow a little bit of that nostalgic, childhood feeling for the present.

The city is basically one giant playground if you let it be. There’s always something new to try and always a modern version of anything that makes you feel like a kid again.

Here are a few spots that might be perfect for it:

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things to do

• Barcade - part arcade, part bar (love it)

• Dave & Buster’s - another fun, gaming hangout spot

• Chelsea Piers - an entire sports campus

• Roller Skating Rinks - because they’re so nostalgic :)

• Build-A-Bear Workshop - yes, you’re allowed to go as an adult (i always wanted one when i was a kid)

• Nintendo NY in Rockefeller Center - peak childhood gaming

• Color Factory - playful, and made for photo ops.

  ---

food & treats

• Anime cafes - for the cartoon-obsessed kid in you

  • we can try One Piece Cafe, Naruto Ramen, Goku Kitchen & Ramen Goku

• Economy Candy - a candy playground

tiny joys

• Photobooths - Old Friend or Autophoto Photobooth Museum

• Vintage shopping - I’ve been to Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg and found some cool pieces

• The Strand’s $3 - $7 stands - flipping through old books

If you get the chance to try any of these, I'd love to hear about it.

And I think it's worth remembering: just because we grow up doesn't mean we have to stop being kids <3

The best version of adulthood is the one that still leaves room for our younger selves.

I spent a weekend at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and if you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to disconnect while also eating really well, this is for you.

There’s a saying that the longer you work in tech, the more you just want to abandon the city and move to a farm with no wifi. And after over 3 years in the space (which honestly should be counted in dog years because of how fast the industry moves), I finally tested that theory.

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I wanted to bring you along on a 1 hour explore tour for farming and culinary research, which is really just a history lesson of the grounds and a walk through the actual farm before you eat.

*Cue to the bite-size history lesson*

Picture this: stunning stone buildings that look like they belong in the French countryside, rolling green hills, and crisp, farm-fresh air. But what we see today didn't actually start out as a curated culinary hub.

It was clear that Stone Barns is way more than just beautiful land, it actually sits on what used to be a Rockefeller dairy farm in Pocantico Hills. David Rockefeller and his daughter Peggy Dulany founded Stone Barns in 2004 in honor of his late wife, Peggy Rockefeller, who was an agricultural conservationist. She also co-founded the American Farmland Trust, a non-profit organization with the goal to create healthy farming practices.

Their vision wasn't just for the aesthetics, they wanted a true working farm that operated through all four seasons, growing something different no matter the time of year, while doubling as a place where visitors could actually learn something real about where their food comes from.

To bring this dream to life, David and Peggy partnered with Dan Barber, who grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Massachusetts. Alongside his brother David and sister-in-law Laureen, they added to the property's historic farm charm and created a world-renowned restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which now holds two Michelin stars. For context, that’s a huge honor in the culinary world, it’s basically their version of the Oscars.

While the Michelin stars are impressive, that almost just feels like a nice addition to the farm once you’re there. We got to walk out into the fields, and I had the chance to pick peas straight off the plant, which sounds like a small thing until you’re standing there doing it and realize you’ve never actually seen where a pea comes from.

After the fields, we headed over to my favorite room on the property: the bakery. We were introduced to a French baker who explained that Blue Hill redefines the bread-making process by stone-milling heritage grains on-site daily, treating wheat not as a pantry staple, but as a fresh, perishable vegetable. We were also able to try buckwheat seltzer (which sounds questionable, but was incredible). It was crafted by Rhizome, an innovation lab at Blue Hill that transforms soil-saving farm crops into sparkling botanical drinks.

After exploring the bakery, we ended the experience at the cafeteria with an amazing farm-fresh, school-lunch style plate full of a few different items: soil-grown experimental lettuces, bread with whipped butter & a green herb spread, thinly sliced meat and a cheesecake with strawberry compote.

The menu changes based on what the farm actually has that week which makes it way less “farm to table” as a marketing line and more an actual operating philosophy.

This was the first of many visits here and I’m glad I got to bring you along with me.

But beyond it just being a beautiful day, it left me thinking about the bigger concept of knowing where our food actually comes from. When you watch something grow, pick it yourself, then eat it an hour later, you understand it differently. Most of what we eat travels so far and goes through so much before it reaches us that we lose that connection completely.

I didn’t always think this way. My own journey started because my best friend brought me along, and it made all the difference. So, I’m happy to do the same for you :)

City life can be fun, but I hope this is a reminder that there's a whole other world close by. Sometimes just a short drive away.

The more you learn, the more it stays with you. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll have a farm named in your honor too <3

Summer is officially here, and as the Type A friend of the group, I put together a bucket list of whimsical NYC adventures because when you live in New York, there are so many different versions of summer you can have.

You can choose the party summer, the peaceful summer, or if you’re anything like us, the whimsy summer.

A few of these are places and experiences I already love and immediately wanted to share with you. The rest are things I’ve been meaning to try, so let’s consider this our official excuse to finally do them together.

The goal isn’t to check every box. It’s to make a few good deposits into our memory bank before Labor Day rolls around <3

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morning plans

• Try matcha from…

  • 12 Matcha

  • Matchaful

  • Kijitora

  • Rhythm Zero

• or try coffee from Buddy Buddy, the first organic nut butter coffee bar

• Take a workout class at TrapHaus Fitness

• Pick up a pastry from L’appartement 4F (i love the raspberry croissant) or Radio Bakery

• Browse a farmer’s market upstate

  • Chappaqua farmer’s market

  • TASH farmer’s market

• Quick Breakfast / Brunch any one of these

  • PopUp bagels

  • Blue Hill at Stone Barns Cafeteria

  • Clinton St. Baking Company

lunch or dinner?

• Little Ruby’s - one my favorite lunch spots. I order the pasta and fries <3

• Blue Sky Deli (Hajji’s)- for the chopped cheese!!

• Tatiana By Kwame Onwuachi - hard resy to get, but 100% worth it

• The Corner Store- still waiting to try this spot

our weekend agenda

• Get a forever bracelet from Catbird

• Create your signature scent at Olfactory NYC

• Decorate a cake at Kitsby

• Take a pottery class at Happy Medium

• Visit The Frick Collection

• Score the chefs at Hudson table - a multi-course culinary competition, Iron Chef style.

• Go to a record bar for the classics

• Attend a social jazz night at Lucille’s in Harlem

• Capture memories at photobooths

  • Old Friend

  • Autophoto Photobooth Museum

• End the summer at the US Open

tiny joys

• Buy a disposable camera

• Get an embroidered shirt at UNIQLO (even better if we’re matching <3)

• Buy flowers at the farmer’s market

• Send a postcard

• Make a summer playlist

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Welcome to the first Field Note. If you’re coming over from my main letter, this is a little different from our usual bite-size scrapbook. Think of this as the corner of Weekend Report where sports and wellness meet brand strategy. We will be diving into campaign concepts, cultural deep dives, and case studies, all backed by a Master’s in Psychology and an unexplainable amount of curiosity.

No better way to start off this corner of Weekend Report than by talking about the Knicks because if you live in New York, you know the energy this past week has been electric.

Everyone is buying into the Knicks. Coffee shops are creating Knicks-themed drinks. Cookie shops are turning the Knicks logo into edible art, and local businesses across the city are finding ways to be part of the moment.

And they 100% should.

Because sports are no longer just sports.

They’re culture, community and identity.

The Knicks making the Finals for the first time in 27 years isn’t just a basketball story. It’s a city-wide moment. And the brands that understand that are finding creative ways to become part of it.

If you’re a brand in New York right now and you’re not doing something Knicks-related, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

The most successful sports organizations and businesses today aren’t just selling products or building teams.

They’re building communities people want to explore.

If you know anything about sports fans, fandom is incredibly social.

Yes, there are downsides. Sometimes the rivalries go a little too far. But at its core, sports gives people something many of us are looking for: a place to belong.

A shared identity, a reason to talk to strangers, a reason to leave the house and a reason to care about something bigger than ourselves.

Sports happens to be one of the best vehicles for that.

At its best, fandom isn’t just about watching a game, it’s about participating in a moment.

What I’ve loved watching over the past few weeks isn’t just the Knicks. It’s how the entire city has responded to them.

And that’s exactly what smart brands understand.

They’re not really just selling coffee or cookies.

They’re selling participation and giving people another way to feel connected to the moment.

A Knicks-themed latte isn’t actually about the latte. It’s about walking into a coffee shop and instantly finding someone else who gets it.

An edible Knicks logo isn’t really about the cookie. It’s about celebrating something together.

The product is just the vehicle. The feeling is what people remember.

And that’s what New York has done so well during this Finals run. The city has turned fandom into a shared experience.

The best part is that most of these ideas aren’t complicated. They’re just timely and local.

One of my favorite examples has been Farm Cafe.

The café started adding Knicks-themed toppers to its drinks. A simple, but effective idea that I love.

Farm Cafe's Knicks-themed drinks eventually landed the café on Good Morning America, and because it's located just a mile from the Knicks practice facility, a few players including Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart stopped by.

And that’s just one example.

There’s vintage-style Knicks merch popping up at Mr. Throwback. Watch parties happening all over the city. A Knicks-themed stoop on the Upper East Side. Fanatics rolling through Manhattan with its fan wagon giving away shirts. A Knicks-themed subway station. Knicks cookies. Knicks watercolor paintings.

That’s the beauty of it. There’s something for everyone to find joy in.

@stoopandthecityYou know it's serious when The Stoop trades hydrangeas for basketballs. 🏀🧡💙 The Knicks are in the Finals and NYC is absolutely electric.

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And if you’re in San Antonio, the same thing applies. I mean, how cute would it be to walk into a local shop and get a Spurs-themed Texas stamp on your boots or your cowboy hat during the Finals?

The goal isn’t to copy New York. The goal is to create a version of this that feels uniquely Texan.

The best experiences aren’t necessarily the biggest ones. They’re the ones that feel authentic. New York is succeeding because it’s tapping into New York culture. San Antonio has an opportunity to do the same this week with Texas culture.

These are the kinds of moments people remember for years to come. They'll remember who they watched the games with, where they were and the stories that came from it.

That’s what makes moments like this so special.

And what brand wouldn’t want to be part of that?

Also, I know some people like to joke about “performative fans,” but honestly, I think that’s how fandom often starts.

Sports are one of the few things that can bring together people of different ages, backgrounds, and interests. The barrier to entry right now is surprisingly low. All you really need is a reason to care.

All of these examples are invitations to join the conversation and belong.

Sometimes that’s all it takes.

One watch party. A Knicks shirt. A team-themed cookie.

Before you know it, you’re checking scores, learning player names, and complaining about missed calls by the refs.

The best experiences don’t just serve existing fans.

They create new ones.

explore →

We’re officially one game into the NBA Finals with New York taking an early lead. The NBA playoffs have been such a fun journey into learning a new sport for me. The pressure, the high stakes, the comebacks, all of it proves that a series isn’t over until it’s actually over.

But at the same time, while we’re all feeling the game day emotions as fans and waiting to see who becomes champion, I recently realized how important it is to enjoy the moments we’re in because they don’t last forever.

A sweet reminder that Karl-Anthony Towns gave us all after Game 1.

KAT’s path to the NBA Finals feels deeper than basketball.

For years, he’s been a really talented player, but his journey has also been marked by immense personal loss. In 2020, he not only lost his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, to COVID-19, but also lost seven additional family members during the pandemic.

KAT has never shied away from talking about how much his mom meant to him and the impact her loss has had on his life, both on and off the court. At the same time, he has been open about the survivor’s guilt and grief he has carried while navigating so much loss in such a short period of time.

What stood out to me after Game 1 wasn’t the stats or even the win itself.

It was hearing KAT talk about feeling like a little kid again and feeling like his mom was in the arena with him.

That touched my heart.

Here he is, playing on one of the biggest stages in basketball, living out a dream that he’s worked toward his entire life. Yet the emotion that seemed to stand out most wasn’t pressure, expectation, or even the desire to win.

It was joy and gratitude.

And I think experiencing loss, especially on that scale, changes the way you see life.

When you’ve had people, moments, or chapters taken from you far sooner than expected, you become more aware that nothing is guaranteed. You learn that even the most beautiful moments are temporary, which somehow makes them even more meaningful.

That’s part of why KAT’s comments resonated with me so much. It felt like he understood something many of us spend years learning: that some moments aren’t meant to be rushed through on the way to the next goal. They’re meant to be experienced, appreciated, and remembered while we’re living them.

It was the kind of childlike excitement that reminds us why we fall in love with something in the first place.

From what we’ve seen during the Knicks playoff run, this team is full of fighters. There’s obviously a strong professional desire to win a championship. But I think it’s beautiful that KAT didn’t allow the pursuit of the outcome to overshadow the experience of the moment itself.

He allowed himself to feel it, appreciate the moment and remember who helped him get there.

Sometimes we’re so focused on reaching the destination that we forget to enjoy the fact that we’re already living through a moment we once prayed for, worked for, or dreamed about.

KAT reminded me that it’s okay to pause and take it all in.

There are some moments we all wish we could stay in forever.

Family traditions. Sunday afternoons watching football. The routines we loved. The first time you meet your favorite athlete. Championship runs.

Those chapters always seem to go by so quickly.

But sometimes the moments we wish could last forever take on a different meaning over time. We may not get to stay in them, but we learn to carry them with us in different ways.

And as much as I’d love to live in some of those moments forever, that’s not reality.

Because life has a way of reminding us that nothing is guaranteed.

The people we love, the seasons we enjoy, and the moments we wish could last forever are all temporary. And while that can be difficult to accept, it also gives those moments their meaning.

It reminds us to be present and to appreciate what we have while we have it.

Maybe that's why, as sports fans, these moments mean so much to us.

The New York Knicks haven’t won an NBA championship since 1973. That’s 53 years of waiting, hoping, rebuilding, disappointment, and believing that maybe next year would be different. Some Knicks fans weren’t even born the last time the team won a championship.

Imagine how much sweeter this Finals run feels because of everything that came before it.

If the Knicks won every year, it would be amazing, but it wouldn’t mean the same thing.

The waiting is part of what makes this moment special.

But not every hardship exists to teach us a lesson, and not every loss feels meaningful when we’re living through it.

Some experiences simply remind us how precious life is.

Sometimes grief doesn’t make us stronger. It simply makes us more aware of what matters.

When you’ve experienced loss, you learn that moments aren’t valuable because they last forever. They’re valuable because they don’t.

While sports and life exist on very different scales, I think that’s part of why we become so attached to certain teams, seasons, and memories.

As an NFL girl at heart, I think about the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles all the time.

Part of me still isn’t over that team.

Every offseason reminds me that sports never stand still. By this year, probably half of the 2024 roster are already gone. Players get traded. Some retire. Others leave for new opportunities or bigger contracts elsewhere.

And while I understand that’s part of the business, it doesn’t always make it easier.

Because eventually you realize you weren’t just attached to the players.

You were attached to what that team represented.

The excitement of that season. The memories attached to it. The people you watched games with. The version of yourself that got to experience it.

Every season gives us a choice. We can spend all our time wishing things stayed the same, or we can learn to appreciate a season for what it was and embrace whatever comes next.

Neither sports nor life allow us to stay in our favorite chapter forever.

The seasons we wish would end teach us resilience. The seasons we wish would stay forever teach us gratitude. And both are necessary.

So while we’re all focused and excited about who will lift the trophy at the end of this series (go new york <3), I’m trying to remind myself not to rush to the ending.

One day these games will be highlights.

This Finals run will be a memory.

And the version of life you’re in will eventually become part of the story too.

So for now, I’m choosing to recognize that the beauty of the game is that we get to experience it while it’s happening.

Because maybe the goal isn’t to stay in our favorite chapters forever, but to let them shape us enough that we carry a piece of them into every chapter that comes next.

wellness tip

• Take yourself on a nostalgic date - go back to a place you loved as a kid. maybe it's the ice cream shop you always visited, the bookstore where you spent entire afternoons, the neighborhood park you would sit on the swings at, or the pizza place your family used to visit after church.

  • if you do go, i'd love to hear where your date takes you <3 bonus points if you recruit the people you used to go with to join you.

    Leave a comment

out my cart

• Cymbiotika Vitamin D3 + K2 + CoQ10 - i'm officially in my immunity-building era. adding this to my routine as a reminder that wellness is easier to maintain than it is to rebuild.

• EADEM Le Chouchou Lip Balm - my favorite lip balm at the moment. non-sticky, super hydrating, and always in my bag.

memory bank

• 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge - my home for a brooklyn staycation. waking up to views of the bridge never gets old and it’s another reminder that sometimes you don’t need to leave your city to feel somewhere new.

• DUMBO Viewpoint (39-21 Washington St, Brooklyn, NY 11201)- somehow, in my entire lifetime of living in new york, this was my first time seeing the famous manhattan bridge view in person. proof that there are still corners of your own city to see.

• % Arabica - ordered an iced honey latte with oat milk before wandering around the waterfront. it was such a beautiful day for a walk by the bridge.

• 7th Street Burger - a simple, (kinda greasy) burger and fries after walking around all afternoon. sometimes the best memory deposits aren’t fancy or the healthiest. they’re just exactly what you were craving in the moment.

• Red Coffee Stand - such a small, cute coffee stand. i ordered a warm matcha latte with oat milk and loved seeing the regulars’ loyalty cards taped all over the stand. part reminder to never forget your card, part neighborhood charm. it felt very brooklyn.

explore →

Happy (almost) NBA Finals. It’s been so fun watching the games, reading everyone’s content, and learning about the history behind each team and series.

The finals don’t actually start until June 3rd and with OKC & the Spurs heading into game 7, it genuinely feels like a toss up on who’s going to play against the Knicks next week. My hope is that the Spurs pull through so we get a Knicks vs. Spurs Finals, which would be a full history re-run from 1999 and honestly too poetic to ignore.

But regardless of who wins the western conference finals, watching the Knicks this postseason has been really special. To be fair, this is my first year consistently watching and as a Knicks fan (and VJ Maxx loyalist… can’t help it lol), you can really see how hard they have been fighting for this.

At the center of it all is the King of New York, Jalen Brunson, a 29 year old point guard who didn’t just grow up with hoop dreams, he grew up inside them. His dad, Rick Brunson played nine seasons in the NBA, hopping between eight different teams on unguaranteed contracts, never really getting the stability or the ending he deserved, but is now a proud father and assistant coach to the same team his son plays for and the same team he played for years ago. Crazy full circle moment.

But just because Jalen’s dad was an NBA player doesn’t mean his path was paved for him. If anything, from a young age, he watched what the grind really looked like and still had to go out and prove himself every single step of the way.

He went to Villanova where he won two NCAA championships, took home the Wooden Award, the Naismith Award (both celebrate the best college player of the year), and the Bob Cousy Award (Top Men's Collegiate Point Guard). He was also later named College Basketball Player of the Decade by Sporting News. By every measure he was one of the best college players of his generation.

And then draft night came. 32 players got called before him and he was picked 33rd overall.

For a player who had just collected nearly every major award in college basketball, being picked 33rd stings. That's 32 players called before you regardless of everything you gave and all of the accolades you received. It tells you exactly what the league thought of his ceiling from the very beginning. Too small. Too slow. The kind of player who can “succeed in college but probably won’t translate”. It seemed like critics thought he didn’t have the size or explosiveness that teams wanted. What he did have was everything that doesn’t necessarily show up on a measuring tape, but for a long time, the league consistently downplayed him.

Jalen spent his first four years in Dallas playing behind Luka Doncic, learning and working hard. But when his moment came during the 2022 playoffs with Luka sidelined, he showed up in a way that people started to notice. And Dallas had the chance to lock him in and didn’t so that summer, Jalen signed with the Knicks as an unrestricted free agent, choosing one of the most pressure filled, historically heartbroken fan bases in professional sports. Eventually, becoming the heartbeat of the franchise.

In hindsight, it’s easy to say that him reaching the NBA finals was inevitable because, well… we can see that he’s here now, but sometimes that’s the trap of looking backwards. Nothing about Jalen Brunson’s path was actually guaranteed.

I’m sure plenty of second round picks with great college careers disappear into the league and never find their moment. Plenty of “undersized” guards get labeled early and carry that label for the rest of their career. Plenty of players go to a pressure franchise like the Knicks and crumble under the weight of it.

What made it feel inevitable wasn’t talent alone, It was the combination of talent, character, timing, and choice. He had to choose the Knicks. The Knicks had to be ready to build around him. He had to stay healthy. He had to keep showing up in the big moments consistently enough that the city believed in him before the results fully proved them right.

So the better way to say it might be, it was inevitable only because of who he is, not because of what he had. A lot of people have talent, not everyone responds to pressure the way he does.

And now he has the Knicks in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

The league doubted him at every turn. He just kept proving them wrong.

But here is where the story gets even more special.

27 years ago, Rick Brunson who didn’t become an NBA Champion now gets to stand on the sideline as an assistant coach watching his son lead the same franchise back to the biggest stage in basketball. While he didn’t get to win, he raised someone who has a chance to.

And regardless of what happens during the finals, it’s not just a sports story anymore. It’s a legacy story. It’s a father planting a seed he never got to see fully bloom. Rick doesn’t just have a son. He now has a second chance.

I’m convinced basketball has the most compelling storylines of any sport. Once you start looking into the players and the history behind them it’s almost impossible not to care.

And what I love most is that the lessons translate. We may not all face the amount of pressure athletes have, but it’s proof that the blessings God places on your life do not come without challenges. Your perspective matters through the journey. And your success also depends on how you look at your circumstances. Because if you’re not careful you’ll actually start to believe what people say about you. That you’re too small. That you’re not good enough. That your moment already passed. You’ll think the blessing you received is actually a curse.

It’s a reminder not to let those words become your story. Jalen Brunson didn’t and look where he is now.

27 years in the making for the franchise. His testimony arrived right on time.

And now, there’s only one thing left to do… finish the job! <3

wellness activity

• Journal your own testimony. write down one thing you were told you couldn’t do that you did anyway. keep it somewhere you can see it and let it remind you of what you are capable of.

  • if you feel like sharing, drop it in the comments. i would love to cheer you on <3

    

    Leave a comment

brand stuff

• Oura Ring x Knicks - oura just dropped a thinner, beautiful ring and i’ve been trying to convince myself i don't need it, but i do. if you know me you know i am a loyal oura ring girl despite its fitness tracking shortcomings. and apparently they have been an official knicks partner since 2023 which i just found out and feel like i should have known sooner.

out my cart

• Suri toothbrush - an eco-friendly toothbrush that comes with a UV-C cleaning case that removes 99.9% of bacteria in one minute. it's the kind of thing you didn't know you needed until you have it and then you can never go back.

• Cymbiotika Vitamin C Immune + Collagen Support Liposomal - i was sick last week (and one too many times this year) so i decided that i need to focus on building up my immune system. these taste so good and have helped with my recovery.

You ever watch a movie and feel like anything is possible? Recently, I re-watched F1 and that’s exactly what it felt like. It gave me that post-movie theater motivational feeling right at home.

If you haven’t watched it yet, heads up: there might be spoilers in this report. But it’s all in good nature, because this week’s scrapbook page is less about a real sports story and more about sports cinema.

We see a real theme of the connection of sports to life through so many movies: Rocky and Creed, Real Steel, Southpaw, 42, Remember the Titans (to name a few). It’s always been synonymous. And sports cinema is often times where that connection hits hardest because it’s open and accessible to anyone wanting to enjoy a movie.

In F1 specifically, Sonny Hayes didn’t just love racing. He lived it. Breathed it.

He’s kind of character who reminds you what it looks like when someone is completely consumed by their craft. Racing wasn’t a job for him and i’d argue to even say it wasn’t even a passion. It was who he was. Every decision, every sacrifice and every moment came back to the track.

In 1993, a near-fatal crash at the Spanish Grand Prix ended his professional F1 career. It left Sonny with a neck fracture, a mid-back fracture and a doctor’s report that said racing again could cause paralysis, vision loss, or death.

It should have been the end of the story and for valid reason, most people would’ve walked away.

But he didn’t stop racing.

For 30 years, Sonny became a racer-for-hire. NASCAR Cup Series. Xfinity Series. 24 Hours of Le Mans. 24 Hours of Daytona, where he won the GTD class right before his return to F1. And when the F1 opportunity came, he actually wasn’t the team’s first choice. Or second. Or third. Or fourth…

People thought he was a has-been. It had been so long since he’d raced F1 that many doubted his ability, especially because his racing style was more spontaneous and untraditional. But he kept racing because racing was the only place he felt at peace.

Nonetheless, he was irreplaceable in the sport not because he was always the fastest (though he was fast), but because he understood racing at a level most people never reach. He saw lines others didn’t see and took risks others wouldn’t take. He pushed when everyone else would’ve pulled back. Racing was an art form to him.

And the movie doesn’t shy away from showing what that costs. The crashes and the comebacks. The moments when his body couldn’t keep up with what his mind demanded. The marriages that didn’t last. The relationships that fell apart because racing always came first.

I doubt this was because he didn’t care about the people in his life, but because he cared about racing more. And the film doesn’t romanticize that. It shows the toll. When you’re that obsessed with one thing, other areas of your life suffer.

Watching someone love something that much really strikes a chord. It makes you ask yourself: what do I love like that? What am I willing to go all in for?

Because honestly, I don’t think most of us live and breathe our dreams the way Sonny lived and breathed racing (and we’re not exactly supposed to). But we do play it safe. We keep one foot out the door just in case it doesn’t work out.

And the reality is, this is just cinema. Movies show us extremes. It’s not the best to neglect our relationships, our health or everything else in our life to chase one thing. Real life needs balance in ways cinema doesn’t.

But here’s what I do notice: We’re not in danger of loving our dreams too much. Sometimes, we’re actually in danger of loving them too little and letting fear talk us out of going all in.

So where can you push a little harder?

Maybe it’s finally booking that trip. Maybe it’s applying for the job you think you’re not ready for. Maybe it’s saying yes to the thing that scares you.

Personally, I keep artifacts (tickets, receipts, photos) not just for nostalgia, but as proof I did things scared. The jobs I accepted without having much experience. The trips I booked solo. The new classes I joined as a beginner. A scrapbook is full of moments where I pushed past fear.

And looking back at them reminds me: I’ve done hard things before. I can do them again (and so can you).

Sports cinema shows us what happens when you commit fully and when you make yourself irreplaceable not because you’re perfect, but because no one else has the same unique angle as you do.

So the question is, how far will you take your dreams?

Will you just love them? Or will you live them and make them so much a part of who you are that quitting isn’t the first option. Or the second. Or the third. Or the fourth?

Lately my articles have had a theme: God’s timing, choosing your own path, honoring your own tempo.

All the same message, honestly. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t remind you of the different ways that looks?

Sonny didn’t ask if racing was worth it. He just raced. And maybe that’s just another version of the lesson.

The people who go to the moon and back for their dreams don’t spend time wondering if they should. They just go.

wellness tip

• find (or make time for) your flow state activity- this is the thing where time disappears and you’re locked into a hobby you love. sometimes it’s something we loved as kids, that we need to re-visit as adults.

out my cart

• Nami Matcha Starter Kit - finally going to explore the endless matcha recipes i have saved on my phone

• No Particular Order, the everything card - so cute. i received a card like this for my birthday last year and thought it was a playful, fill in the blank letter for gift-giving.

  ---

  talk soon

It’s officially the year of the underdog, especially when it comes to sports. If you were following the NBA playoffs, you’d know that the Sixers came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Celtics and ended up progressing to round 2. There’s something beautiful about a team that refuses to give up. If you missed that post, it’s below. There’s a ton of history behind that series that was incredible to watch.

But this weekend, I want to spotlight the Kentucky Derby, the most prestigious horse race in America, held every year in Louisville. Honestly, I had no clue what this was other than people dressing up in fancy hats, dresses and suits. It’s been running since 1875 and is known as “the most exciting two minutes in sports”. Twenty horses compete in a 1.25-mile race for a chance at the Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown is one of horse racing's biggest achievements (like a Super Bowl or NBA Champ). It requires a horse to win three core races in the same year - the Kentucky Derby (May 2), the Preakness Stakes (May 16), and the Belmont Stakes (June 6). Something only 13 horses in history have ever done.

What made this Derby unforgettable wasn't just that Cherie DeVaux became the first woman trainer to win. It was watching Golden Tempo and the jockey, Jose Ortiz surge from last place to first in the final stretch.

There’s something surreal about watching it unfold. It’s proof that even when you’re dead last, your race isn’t over. Things can change suddenly. One moment you’re at the back, wondering if you’ll ever catch up. The next, you’re crossing the finish line first.

Cherie DeVaux proves that an "overnight success" is never really overnight. The moment leading up to the win was something she had been preparing for for years. She's been training horses for over 20 years. She started at the bottom, mucking stalls and working her way up. She faced setbacks and rejection in an industry that's historically been dominated by men, but she kept showing up, running her own race, and trusting her process even when no one else believed.

Before 2026, only 19 horses trained by women had entered the Kentucky Derby in over 150 years. The odds were stacked against her, but she didn’t let that stop her from trying. You don’t enter a race knowing you’ll win. You enter for the chance to win. This is what happens when years of preparation meet the right moment. This is what stepping out on faith actually looks like.

This feels like God’s timing to me. Golden Tempo spent most of that race in last place. But when the moment was right, everything fell into place in seconds. He was exactly where he needed to be, exactly when it mattered.

Which has me thinking: we should honor our own tempo and stop worrying about being last. Stop watching who’s ahead. Find your opening. Run your race <3

Like Golden Tempo, your moment is coming, it’s just a matter of time.

other sporty stuff

• NBA semifinals: Knicks (2) vs. Sixers (0)- a battle of the east coast cities. knicks are in the lead!!

wellness tip

• switch up your weekend routine. try something different this weekend, even if it's small. new matcha spot, different pilates class time, explore a different neighborhood. switching up your routine reduces the feeling of boredom, builds adaptability, and helps you appreciate your life a little more from a new perspective.

out my cart

• flowers for mothers day - i've ordered from freshsends multiple times. very reliable option if you and your mom (or someone you know who's a mom) live in different states <3

memory bank

inspired by footballer, Jalen McMillan’s unique grocery store hobby, my local grocer has basically become my third space too. but instead of trying and collecting off-brand cereals like he does, i'm putting my own spin on it by testing healthier alternatives to popular items i loved growing up.

@bucsnflJ Mac’s avocado vanilla chips = a legendary Combine interview moment 🥣😅 #hobby #snack #chips #cereal #flavor

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• first swap: Reese’s peanut butter cups → Kyze peanut butter chocolate bar

  • i thought this would be a solid alternative, but i gave one to someone who usually eats reese's cups and they said they could taste the dates. so tread lightly lol. i'd rate this a 6.5/10 replacement. not bad, but not something i'd reach for or reorder.

• second swap: Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla → Ice cream for bears vanilla

  • love ice cream for bears. i’ll shout it from the rooftops. it made me forget how much i love ben & jerry’s. 9/10 replacement.

• third swap: Pop secret popcorn → Khloud popcorn

  • i was pleasantly surprised by khloud. it’s good, but the texture is noticeably different with the added protein. 7.5/10. to be fair, i tried the olive oil & sea salt flavor so it wasn’t as flavorful as other options might be.

    ---

Happy Sixers Sunday (if you rooted for them),

I’m sipping on an iced vanilla latte with oatmilk and wanted to share a bite-sized take on why underdog stories mean so much to me. This is my first year ever closely following the NBA playoffs and there are a lot of great series happening right now, but the one I couldn’t look away from was the series between the Sixers vs Celtics. Yesterday it closed out in the most unexpected, emotional, full circle way. A 3-1 comeback that no one anticipated.

I watched game 7 last night in my VJ Edgecombe Sixers shirt, eating cookie dough ice cream, tempted to turn the TV off as the score got close toward the end. That’s how much I wanted them to win, but I’m not here to break down the game or to talk about what went wrong or what went right. It isn’t really about analysis for me.

It’s about the fact that both teams showed up. Both teams competed. But only one of them carried something extra into each arena. A weight that’s been sitting on the sixers since 1982. No wins against the Celtics in the playoffs in over 40 years. That’s not just a stat, that’s a mindset that gets passed down. “They always beat us.” But somewhere in the middle of this series, that stopped being true.

And that’s the part that got me emotional. Not the score. The rewrite.

Because showing up is one thing, but showing up when you’re also trying to break a 40 year curse is another thing entirely.

And I want to give the Celtics their flowers too. They're a seed 2 team for a reason and there's a unique pressure that comes with being at the top and staying there. We all have bad seasons. For some teams that means not making the playoffs at all. For great teams, it means not advancing in the playoffs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have never missed the playoffs in their careers, so losing in Round 1 is their version of a hard year. And even that is something worth acknowledging.

I think there’s something deeply wellness related about an underdog story. It’s not just physical, it’s the decision to believe before you have any evidence to support the belief. To quiet the noise of people constantly doubting you or maybe even the doubts you put on yourself and to stay present in a moment that feels impossible. That’s not just athletic, that’s a practice. And most of us have had to do a version of it at some point in our lives, whether or not anyone was watching.

The comeback mindset isn’t about pretending things are fine. It’s about deciding that the loss doesn’t have the final say, even after 40 years.

As a Sunday reflection, I’ll just ask you this. Where have you been carrying a loss so long it started to feel like who you are? And what would it mean to finally rewrite it?

It doesn’t have to be a championship moment. Sometimes the rewrite is a decision you make on a random Tuesday or the thing you go back to after walking away from it for years.

It’s the moment you stop letting an old story define what’s possible for you now.

Whether you’re a Sixers fan or not, I think most of us know the weight of a long losing streak in some area of life. And sometimes that starts to feel less like bad luck and more like just who you are. But there is something special when we decide that it doesn’t have to be.

That’s the comeback. That’s your rewrite.

I know for me, part of why I always root for the underdog is because I’ve always been one. And if the Sixers can break a 40 year curse on a random Saturday night in May, I think the rest of us can find a little hope in that too.

Now… if you’ll excuse me, I have to mentally prepare for Round 2 against the Knicks. I’m a New Yorker. This is going to be a stressful one. My family might actually disown me if I root for the Sixers again, but for now PLAY THE SONG!!

The NFL draft just finished and over 200 dreams came true for NFL prospects (turned rookies).

I love this time of the off season because it’s a showcase of years of hard work and talent from athletes. It’s also where fans are able to show excitement over new talent and dynamics for their teams (and maybe some level of sadness as front offices make some surprising trades to players already on the roster).

But as someone who loves to see dreams come true, I’ve been paying very close attention to some of the athletes who stood out to me this week.

Sonny Styles — drafted by the Washington Commanders, Sonny is a 6'5" linebacker who ran a really fast time of 4.46 at the combine. I think he has the versatility to fit in many areas on defense (especially as a previous safety) and the athleticism that the commanders need. I found a Substack article that breaks down what makes him special if you want to read more. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the field.

Bullock's Film Room

What LB Sonny Styles Brings to the Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders selected Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles with the seventh overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. At 6-foot-5, 244 pounds, Styles is one of the most athletic linebacker prospects in NFL history. That sounds like hyperbole, but…

Read more

3 months ago · 38 likes · 63 comments · Mark Bullock

Arvell Reese — drafted by the New York Giants, Arvell has been into football since he was a kid. Like Sonny, Arvell is a linebacker who was his teammate at Ohio State. They even ran the same exact time of 4.46 in the combine (twinnn 🤞🏽). It’s a little ironic that they ended up being drafted to competing teams in the same division, but I’m sure it’ll still be fun to play each other twice a season. Arvell is really open about the fact that he had a 0.4 GPA at one point. He credits his previous coach, Coach Ginn, who took him under his wing and helped him build a better life. He took Arvell on college tours, put him in credit recovery and believed in him when others didn’t. That kind of mentorship changes lives. I think Arvell will be a great addition to the Giants and I personally would love to see a social media series of him getting introduced to New York culture.

Jeremiyah Love — drafted to the Arizona Cardinals as a running back. Jeremiyah's story really touched my heart. While he wasn’t formally diagnosed, a pediatrician suggested he may be on the autism spectrum. His parents chose not to have an official diagnosis and instead supported Jeremiyah’s unique perspective. Watching him succeed at this level is a reminder that different paths can lead to the same dream. He encourages people to be their authentic selves, no matter how different they may feel. Besides his great character, I think this highlight reel speaks for itself on what the Cardinals can expect :)

Jordyn Tyson — drafted to the Saints as a wide receiver, Jordyn credits all of his success to his faith journey and it's been beautiful to see. He has a tattoo that says "fear God” which to him means fear a life without him. Jordyn talks about persevering through doubt and setbacks while anchoring faith as the core foundation. He’s also known to be a very reliable, and excellent route-runner on the field. Excited to see what he'll do for his team.

@overtimeolaveWhat a SPECIAL MOMENT it was for Jordyn Tyson 🥹✝️⚜️ #jordyntyson #saints #nfl #edit #fyp

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Uar Bernard — drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive tackle. Uar is an athletic beast from the International Player Pathways program. 6’4”, 306 pounds, 36-inch arms, 11-inch hands and a reported 4.63 speed time on the 40-yard dash. I’m not a numbers person, but I think his agility gives the Eagles a lot of edge to work with. The interesting part is, he’s never actually played a professional game of football before. But the Eagles have a history of drafting and developing IPP players like Jordan Mailata, who became an O-line star. Can't help but think, did young Uar who grew up in a small village in Nigeria know all the moments of adversity would lead him to the biggest stage in football... without needing to touch one?! Ready to see him in action on my team!!

Side note: I’ll be doing a series soon before regular seasons starts to break down football positions and make the game more accessible, so if you don’t know what the positions i’m referencing actually mean, I’ll have something you can refer to :)

These are the stories that remind me why I love the draft. It’s not just about who has the best stats or the fastest 40 time. It’s about the paths athletes took to get here.

Coach Ginn believing in Arvell when a 0.4 GPA could have been the end. Jeremiyah reframing what others saw as a limitation into his superpower. It reminds me that our challenges often guide us toward our greatest advantages.

And as fun as these origin stories have been to look into, I always think about the athletes who go undrafted.

The good news is that it’s not too late for them.

Going undrafted doesn’t mean the dream is over. It just means the path looks different. Some of the league’s best players were undrafted. They signed as free agents, proved themselves in training camp, and earned their spot through hard work and refusal to quit.

The draft is one door, but it’s not the only one.

other sporty stuff

• knicks are moving into round 2 of the playoffs!!!

• sixers have pushed their series against the celtics all the way to game 7 (the final game). a seed 2 team against a seed 7 team, needing to go to game 7?! excellent hustle to the sixers.

wellness tip

• chamomile tea (after late games) - i noticed playoff games tip off late, and between the postgame reactions and replaying the insane moments, chamomile tea has helped me wind down. it has a natural sleep compound that helps you relax and unwind. i make a cup right after the game, drink it while scrolling highlights for a few minutes, then brick my phone.

out my cart

• Omnilux Red Light Therapy Mask - i've been reading about the benefits of red light therapy and wanted to try it long-term for healthier, even skin. it’s one of my favorite game day pieces when i’m watching at home lol

• Lucky Honey [solidcore] Grip Socks - if you know me, you know i’m a [solidcore] girl through and through, and what better way to cement myself further in the brand than by buying their limited edition grip socks for class

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Hope you’re ready for a packed sports weekend. Between NBA playoffs and the NFL draft, there’s a lot happening, but this week’s scrapbook page belongs to the WNBA and our people’s princess, Azzi Fudd.

WNBA players are getting paid more (yay!!) Watching the salaries finally start to reflect what their hard work has been is one of my favorite things to witness this year. While this is good, I still believe the limit needs to keep being pushed. But for now, we’re moving in the right direction and that matters.

This week I’m dedicating a page of my scrapbook to Azzi Fudd.

She was just selected number one overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings. Known for her shooting, her versatility and her warm personality, she’ll be joining her former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers on the Wings roster.

Like, imagine entering a new job and your best friend is already there. I think that kind of familiarity helps as she transitions into the league.

While there has been some noise around her personal life lately, at the end of the day, she achieved a major milestone and I really hope that doesn’t overshadow this moment.

What makes Azzi's story so admirable is everything she had to overcome to get here.

Multiple injuries including a season-ending ACL and meniscus tear in 2023. Her brothers helped her through rehabilitation. She leaned on family, showing up even when it was the hardest thing she could do.

Azzi recovered, came back stronger, and was named the 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. That's not luck. That's character and faith.

On top of that, Azzi also just signed a multi-year deal with Jordan Brand. Truly one in azzillion.

I’m really happy for her and really looking forward to keeping up with Azzi and the WNBA this season.

If you’ve been WNBA-curious but didn’t know where to start, this season is your moment. Azzi and Paige on the same team again? That’s must-watch basketball.

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this weekend i’m watching:

• NBA Playoffs: Knicks vs. Hawks - Game 4 (Saturday, April 25th @ 6pm)

• NBA Playoffs: 76ers vs. Celtics - Game 4 (Sunday, April 26th @ 7pm, still rooting for the underdogs this series)

healthy-ish game day essentials:

NBA playoffs are in full effect, which also means eating good snacks during the games.

• Lesser Evil Popcorn - so good, i love the gold organic butter flavor. it reminds me of movie theater popcorn.

• Siete Potato Chips - this is my version of lay’s. i usually have this with a jersey mikes sandwich (the official sub sandwich sponsor of the NFL), but it’s also just been my go-to chip to eat by itself too right now.

• Ice Cream for Bears - one of my top favorite ice cream brands, i promise it’s so good. my friend recommended this to me and i’ve put my entire family (and now you <3) onto this too. made from all real and whole ingredients.

currently on repeat:

• Bieberchella unlocked a memory i forgot i had: being 13, watching youtube videos of Justin, learning every word to “one time.” his coachella set brought me right back and it reminded me why i love live events. sports and concerts both are about showing up for something that only happens once. you can watch the highlights later, but you can’t buy back the feeling of being there or watching live.

memory bank:

as an ex-finance girl, this is my version of compound growth. your memory bank matters just as much as your bank account. the stock market may be closed on the weekend but your memory bank can still be invested in :)

Last week I deposited:

• Buddy Buddy (NoHo, Manhattan) - new york’s first organic nut butter cafe and such a cool concept. perfect caffeine pre-game stop if you're headed up to MSG.

• Fatt Root (Westchester, NY) - worth the metro-north ride up, great for lunch. it’s an asian cuisine spot with dishes that are friendly to nut allergies, gluten-free and dairy-free diets.

• Gymshark (SoHo, Manhattan) - free to browse, great if you're outfit-building for an active sporty day.

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They were at an art gallery, sitting on a bench, when they noticed two men talking. One looked exactly like your typical finance executive on Wall Street. Clean cut, structured, probably had somewhere else to be. The other looked like art itself. Paint on his shirt. A little older. Free-spirited.

They were both looking at the same art piece, but they were living completely different lives and at some point after discussing the painting together, the finance guy asked, “What do you do for a living?” And the other man said, “Well, I surf around the world. I pick up work here and there. I just do what I love.”

He didn’t need much. A small apartment in a different country. Enough work to sustain his lifestyle and a life built around actually feeling alive.

The finance guy, on the other hand, had everything you’re supposed to want. A stable career. Structure. Responsibility.

But the conversation shifted.

They started talking about travel. The artsy man had this long list of places he’s surfed in, some i’d never even heard of, and the finance guy kept saying he always wanted to go there one day.

and then the artsy man just looked at him and said, “well… why don’t you?”

That’s the part that stuck with me and I think that’s the question most of us avoid answering, not because we don’t want a certain lifestyle, but because we’re used to waiting for the right time to live it.

And not because one life is better than the other, but it reveals something we don’t talk about enough.

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There’s a default blueprint many of us follow. Go to college. Get a stable job. Build a career. Stay in one place. Work your way up. Maybe travel when you can, or later on.

It’s not wrong. It works for a lot of people.

But it’s also passed down through expectations, environments, and what we’ve been shown is “normal.”

So what happens when “normal” gets disrupted on a large scale?

A version of this dream has started to shift in today’s economy. With everything happening, layoffs, AI, all of it, people are starting to question what they actually want out of their lives.

And I don’t think the problem is that this path exists.

I think the problem is how rarely we stop to question how it fits into the lives we want to live.

What really stayed with me about that story wasn’t the lifestyle itself. It was the difference between “wanting” and “doing.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there.” “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

We say those things so casually, but over time, they quietly become a list of experiences we never actually give ourselves permission to have.

If we’re being honest, how many of those things have you actually made time for this year? (Don’t worry if the answer isn’t much, there’s still time.)

The biggest difference between those two men wasn’t ambition. It was definition. One built a life around stability, responsibility, and providing. The other built a life around freedom, experience, and doing what he loved.

And both required trade-offs, just different ones.

It’s also easy to judge the more structured life and to look at someone working late or busy all the time and assume they’re doing it wrong. But a lot of the time, there are real responsibilities behind that. Things they care about, people they’re showing up for, or choices they’ve made for a reason.

I’m sharing the contrast because it’s hard to ignore, not because one life is better than the other. There’s no right or wrong, just what feels right for you.

But we don’t need to change our entire lives to start. Most of the time, it’s just about stopping the habit of pushing everything to “one day”.

It’s about being honest about the life you’re actually building and making small adjustments to make it feel more like you.

I also think what this story really unlocked for me is how limited our thinking can become without us even realizing it. We assume life has to look a certain way because it’s the version we see most often, but there are people living entirely different realities.

And on a smaller scale, sometimes it’s as simple as switching your routine, going to the game you’ve been thinking about (even if you have to go alone), trying the class you’ve been saving for, or even just taking a walk, exploring a new neighborhood, and getting out of the house for an hour.

It’s easy to compare one life to the next, especially on social media. But sometimes seeing someone live differently can actually spark something in you, a reminder that other ways of living are possible too.

At the same time, we’re all on our own timelines. No one is really ahead or behind, even if it might feel that way.

So what are you actually choosing?

This isn’t about quitting your job or moving across the world tomorrow. I wanted to write this just for awareness and because the story personally resonated with me.

Because it’s really easy to wake up one day and realize you built a life based on what made sense on paper, but not what actually mattered to you. And those aren’t always the same thing.

I’m saying this as someone who’s had to check myself on this too.

I know there’s a lot going on and life can be complicated in ways that are real. But it also doesn’t have to be this huge life change like social media makes it feel (unless that’s what you want).

Most of the time, it’s just something you’ve been thinking about that you finally decide to go do.

If I had kept waiting for the right time, the right person to go with, the right moment, I would have missed the Yankees breaking their homerun record. I would have missed meeting Jalen Hurts. I would have missed watching VJ Edgecombe play during his rookie season.

I would have missed the very things that fill this sports scrapbook.

None of those moments came from waiting. They came from just going.

So, who do you see yourself more in? The one who keeps saying “one day” or the one who just went?

At coffee shops, hair salons, work… one of the first questions is always “is that an Oura ring?” followed by “is it worth it?” So those are the two main questions I want to base this on.

And honestly, sometimes it makes me laugh because it also makes me wonder… is it really that subtle if people can instantly tell I have one on? Or has it just become such a recognizable piece of tech that people know it when they see it?

For anyone who hasn’t heard of it, before I actually knew what the Oura ring was, I thought of it as a cute Apple Watch alternative. I wore an Apple Watch for years, especially for workouts, but I hit a point where I wanted something a little more low key. Slightly more “demure,” lol. The apple watch aesthetics just weren’t doing it for me at the time, and the Oura ring immediately caught my attention.

But on a real note, what actually pulled me in was sleep.

I wanted to get more serious about tracking my sleep and recovery, and wearing an apple watch to bed just wasn’t comfortable for me. The Oura ring felt like a better fit for that part of my routine.

At its core, the Oura ring is wearable tech that tracks your sleep, recovery, and overall readiness using a range of biometrics. You wear it all day and night, and because it sits on your finger, it’s able to collect really detailed data that translates into insights about how your body is actually doing.

It’s really marketed toward people who want to understand their bodies better, especially when it comes to rest and recovery.

At the same time, while the aesthetics are definitely on point, it is still a pretty expensive piece of health tech ($300+), which is why I think so many people are curious but hesitant to actually buy it.

And that’s before even getting into the fact that once you buy the ring, you’re also paying a monthly subscription for the full insights. It’s not super expensive, but it does add up, and I can definitely see how that turns people away.

But after wearing it consistently for two years, I wanted to share what’s actually been worth it, what hasn’t, and what I wish I knew before getting it.

sleep tracking

Love sleep. Like… if it were a hobby, it would easily be my top one.

This is where the Oura ring really stands out.

It breaks down how well you actually slept, not just how long you were in bed. Your readiness score, your sleep stages, how recovered your body feels going into the next day. It gives you a full picture.

It’s also just really comfortable to sleep in. Half the time I barely even notice it’s there, which was a big thing for me coming from the Apple Watch.

That said, you do want to make sure you get the sizing right. I would definitely recommend ordering the sizing kit first, because your hands can swell a bit, especially overnight, and you don’t want it to feel too tight.

But sleep is the kind of insight that you’ll either love or something that might stress you out a little. Because now you know when you didn’t sleep well.

But for me, I actually think that awareness is important, especially when it comes to recovery.

recovery + health insights

Now, this was the most insane discovery for me.

There have been times where it’s told me to slow down or flagged that my body might be under intense strain, even when I didn’t fully realize it yet. It gives early signals when you might be getting sick, which is kind of crazy to me.

I don’t get sick often (knock on wood), but the times I have, Oura actually picked up on it days beforehand. Call it a self fulfilling prophecy lol, but it was flagging stress and strain on my body through the biometrics before I even felt it myself.

It makes you a lot more aware of your body in a way that feels subtle but consistent.

It also tracks your daily stress levels, which is interesting because it can go both ways. It can either make you more aware of your stress, or… make you more stressed lol. But it can also be a really helpful signal that you need to slow down or reset.

And reading into the many stories out there where Oura really stands out. People catching early signs of illness, even things like pregnancy before they realized it themselves. It just shows how powerful that kind of data can be when it’s actually used well.

@hunterwoodhallShould have known something was wrong when our family dog slept right next to me all night

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Spoken from the Olympian himself, Oura can be lifesaving for athletes too.

And just to give you a real look into what the data actually looks like, here’s my sleep score and stress. And yes, I’m giving you my best days, because phew… if you saw my worst, my score might drop just from me typing this.

workouts, and where it falls short

This is probably my biggest downside.

I really thought the Oura ring could replace my Apple Watch, especially for workouts, but it just can’t. The workout tracking isn’t great, and it’s definitely not something I rely on.

For example, I’d ideally want to track my [solidcore] workouts and other activities in a detailed way, and it just doesn’t fully deliver on that yet.

It can pick up on general activity and give you a sense of movement, but it’s not the same as having real time metrics or detailed workout breakdowns.

So if you’re someone who cares about that level of detail or likes actively tracking your workouts while you’re doing them, you’ll still want to keep your Apple Watch or another device for that.

for the girls

This is actually one of my favorite parts.

If you pair it with the Natural Cycles app, it becomes really helpful for cycle tracking. It just adds another layer of understanding your body in a way that feels easy and integrated into your daily routine.

Which, yes, is another added cost, i know… but women’s health is so important, and this just feels like a simple way to be more in tune with your body without overcomplicating it.

so, is it worth the $300–$500+?

Short answer:
it’s worth it for the right person, not everyone.

when it is worth it

it’s 100% worth it if you are someone who:

• cares about your sleep and recovery

• wants to understand your body on a deeper level

• prefers low effort, passive tracking (no notifications, no constant checking)

• values aesthetic + lifestyle fit just as much as functionality

This is where the Oura ring really shines.

It’s not trying to be everything, but it’s trying to be really good at helping you understand your body.

when it’s not worth it

it’s probably not worth it if you:

• care a lot about workout tracking and performance metrics

• want something that feels immediately interactive and rewarding

• don’t think you’ll actually look at or use the data

• are hesitant about paying for both the ring and the monthly subscription

• don’t really care about health tech

Because in those cases, you can just get an Apple Watch or equivalent workout or health tracker… or just live freely outside the wellness chokehold I’ve clearly put myself in lol.

final thoughts

If you were thinking about getting an Oura ring, I hope this helped. If you just discovered this, that’s cool too, and honestly, if you didn’t care about this at all but still made it this far… I’m indebted to you endlessly lol.

And Oura, if you ever read this one day… hire me lol because regardless of the shortcomings, I do genuinely love ya.

Picture this:

It’s a Saturday morning, you’re heading to a run club, matcha in hand, looking forward to having an active morning. Or maybe it’s Sunday, you’re on the couch with a game on in the background.

Maybe it’s something else entirely.

And honestly, if none of that matches what you think of when you hear “sports,” it actually doesn’t have to.

Because being part of the sports world doesn’t look one way.

It can be playing, watching, or just building a lifestyle around movement and being active in your own way.

And I think that matters more than we realize.

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Because for a lot of people, the hardest part isn’t interest, it’s access.

There aren’t many spaces that actually teach you how to get into a sport, how to follow it, understand it, or feel part of it. So most people assume it’s not for them.

But the truth is, you don’t really learn sports from a manual. You learn by being around it, watching it, by picking things up over time and by talking about it with other people. By being part of the environment, even if you don’t fully get it yet.

Also, sports fans are actually some of the most welcoming people. Every game I’ve been to, every person i’ve interacted with online, there’s always been someone willing to answer a question or explain what’s going on.

And that’s what I want this to be, a way in.

When the barrier to entry is low, people are more willing to try.

And once they try, they start to understand. They recognize players, follow storylines, get familiar with the game.

What starts as just showing up for the vibes slowly turns into real interest.

That’s how people become fans, not all at once, but over time.

Weekend Report isn’t traditional. I probably won’t ever be here breaking down stats or analyzing every play because I care more about the experience of it.

Like this year, I 100% plan on going to the US Open, trying the food, getting the iconic honey deuce cocktail, and walking through all the brand activations.

Do I know much about tennis? Not really, but I don’t really need to.

It’s proof you don’t need to know everything to be part of that.

Even knowing a little bit, like recognizing a player, following a team, understanding the basics, can open the door to connection with your friends, your family, even complete strangers.

It gives you something to talk about, share, and be part of.

Most of the time, I’m learning too, reading Substacks from people who actually know the game and picking things up as I go.

Like I enjoy watching basketball, but I still have to search “what’s a backcourt again?” (other than it being in the back of the court…?).

And somehow, I still ended up making sports one of the main topics of these letters.

I also think sports are meant to be experienced, kind of like wellness.

For some people, the two are one. But I hope Weekend Report is a reminder that living sports matters just as much as watching them.

There’s a whole world around it, and it’s just as interesting. I promise, sometimes it’s even more interesting than your reality TV show (I mean… remember the Luka Doncic trade situation?).

But anyway, you don’t need to know anything to wear a cute outfit and sip a honey deuce by a tennis court with your friends.

However you choose to show up, it still counts.

And if you’re already deep into sports (I admire you!), you definitely don’t need this. But if you want to learn a little more (or convince your friend to), I’m sharing a few resources below.

Simple intro videos for the NFL and NBA, these are very much for the girls, but honestly, they made learning funny and way more fun.

Feel free to send this to the person you’ve been trying to convince to go to a game.

And if you ever feel intimidated by the sports jargon, I’ll be saving you a seat (and a snack) at my table.

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Sundays, (Monday & Thursday nights) were always a core part of my routine so without it, it feels like something is missing.

But, this weekend, we got a version of it back.

The Fanatics Flag Football game isn’t the NFL, but it carries pieces of it. It’s also a chance to see some of our favorite players on the same field, in different dynamics playing together in a way you normally wouldn’t across the 32 NFL clubs.

To me, it feels a little more relaxed, but still competitive enough to remind you what you’ve been missing.

It’s not the same, but it doesn’t have to be.

And seeing a super athletic roster, like Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts on the same team, makes you realize how rare it is to see talent like that share the field in that way.

Also Saquon and Odell. Players you’re used to watching in completely different contexts, now part of the same game.

Even seeing someone like iShowSpeed out there, who isn’t from the league but is clearly athletic in his own right, added another layer to it.

But specifically, seeing Odell’s one-handed catch in 2026 felt like a blast from the past.

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@nfl#odellbeckhamjr with the sick grab 😮‍💨 #nfl #joeburrow #jaydendaniels

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And watching him play in the flag football game reminded me of his career. For a second, I honestly thought he had retired. I’ve always associated him with the Giants, so seeing him out there again really brought me back.

From being drafted to the Giants to becoming one of the most recognizable players in the league, Odell basically had a very strong association with New York (and still does).

After his iconic one-handed catch during his rookie season, his name was everywhere. It wasn’t just a great play, it became part of the culture, and in a lot of ways, that moment accelerated everything.

Kids started to look up to him, dye their hair blonde, and talk about the catch on recess. It felt like a movement.

But with that came a version of him people didn’t always understand.

He was emotional. You’d see it on the sidelines, sometimes even during the game. Odell had a ton of frustration, passion and intensity, but It didn’t always come across the right way, and it always became the headline.

It’s also hard to separate that from how much he cared. Two very high emotions on both ends.

When you love something that deeply, your emotions are going to show. Especially in a sport like football, where everything is physical, fast, and constantly under a microscope.

But at the same time, there’s something to be said about staying composed and regulated in those moments.

When the Giants traded him, it definitely changed how that chapter ended.

But moments like his one-handed catch don’t really belong to just one point in time. That play alone feels like a snapshot of a different era of football.

And I think that’s the part that sticks.

Not just the highlights, but the reminder that careers aren’t always clean or linear. You can be incredibly talented, widely celebrated, and still misunderstood.

And regardless of how everything played out, I still hope one day he gets to retire as a Giant.

Because maybe the past isn’t something you outgrow or leave behind.

Maybe it’s something you come back to over time, and each time, it looks a little different because you are.

OBJ edits

• Odell’s heart is in New York

• the OBJ movement

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